The Trump administration said Tuesday that it plans put 10 percent tariffs on an additional $200 billion of China-made goods if trade disputes with China are not resolved.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said the new tariffs were a direct response to China imposing its own tariffs in retaliation to U.S. tariffs rather than negotiating to bring down Beijing’s own trade barriers.
“As a result of China’s retaliation and failure to change its practices, the President has ordered USTR to begin the process of imposing tariffs of 10 percent on an additional $200 billion of Chinese imports,” U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in a statement.
The new tariffs will not go into effect for at least two months, after the administration has conducted a formal review and comment process. Hearings are expected in late August.
“Unfortunately, China has not changed its behavior – behavior that puts the future of the U.S. economy at risk. Rather than address our legitimate concerns, China has begun to retaliate against U.S. products,” Lighthizer said.
The new tariffs would hit a much wider array of goods than the initial $50 billion round, only $34 billion of which has been put in place so far. These would include consumer goods such as fish, luggage, dog leashes, furniture, clothing, and television components.
The administration has tried to minimize the impact tariffs that would have on consumer goods purchased by Americans. It reduced the planned tariff rate from 25 percent to 10 percent while widening the scope of the tariff from $100 billion to $200 billion.
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